Geektom’s 135g Adventure

geektom

Junior Poster
Dec 16, 2012
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Detail of the current state above the water:

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toads74

Lifetime Member
Lifetime Member
Jun 3, 2013
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Not at all weird! I sometimes sit in the dark with a small flashlight on the glass top watching what goes on in the dark. Especially the reef, lots of nighttime activity and things look very different.
 

geektom

Junior Poster
Dec 16, 2012
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Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

A few updates on the tank. Still enjoying the heck out of it, but it hasn’t been perfect.

For one thing, the big brace in the middle continues to be a big pain in the booty. Choosing fast growing stems underneath it was a bad choice.

3 weeks without trimming and it is out of control.

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So, rather than continue to fight a losing battle, I am pulling it all out today.

Also doing a very aggressive (90%) trim (yank) of the hydrocotyle Japan- I love it, but it has completely blanketed every thing around it.

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After pulling out all the overgrowth, the anubias petite are all fine, but looks like I have lost all the mini-Christmas moss that was shadowed by the h. Japan and stem plants.

I have also lost all the moss on the right side- just not enough light. So I have a lot of bare rock now. Maybe I will look for some anubias “golden” or lighter buce instead.

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So for now I am only keeping the ludwigia repens for some easy red, and some cardinal plants in the back. Both are (relatively) slow growers. Not sure what I should put in the center. Maybe a display-level sword, or a slower stem that is not as demanding, like ludwigia ovalis or something.

Open to any suggestions!

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geektom

Junior Poster
Dec 16, 2012
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Ok- major work got done over the weekend. Pictures don’t even do it justice, lol.

Some plant growth has been explosive- particularly the hydrocotyle Japan in the front/top and all of the swords I planted in the back/middle.

They were completely clogging the swimming lanes around the edges, and the light around the stumps.

You can see how much is shadowed here:

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So, I basically went through the whole tank and started removing anything that was blocking light to something else, or was placed in the wrong spot because I made a bad decision on the original layout. At least 1/3 of the swords were essentially dead because they were being choked out by the ones around them.

Also decided to pull all the mini Christmas tree moss. It has never clung to the rocks the way I really wanted, and had begun to rot underneath, causing it to float away and cause problems.

You can see here where it has all come away from the lava rock:

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I have also sprung several “leaks” of gravel from behind the rock wall, polluting the light colored sand. The cories love to spread it around, so it was time for a sand refresh, too.

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So after lots and lots and lots of trimming and pulling, the whole tank is brighter, and my water flow around the tank is improved, too.

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I also made the pretty bold decision to add a trio of Geophagus to the tank. I have been happy with the Bolivian Rams, but in a tank that size, they do not have the dominating presence I was hoping for. The tank needed a “top fish”. I was thinking about angels, but I have never kept Geos and the tank is set up pretty well for them (especially with the plants thinned out). I have read that they do best in groups of 5+, so I hope 3 will do ok.

Interestingly- the Bolivians colored up as soon as the Geos were added.

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So, the tank now has a total of: 3 Geos, 5 Bolivian Rams, 7 orange laser corys, 20 serpae tetras, 11 green neons, 20-ish Otos, and a lot of Amanos and nerites... if I have to add 2 more Geos, I think I will still be ok.

Comments and criticism welcome as always- hope you can see it in person soon!
 

geektom

Junior Poster
Dec 16, 2012
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How is the tank going so far?

Hey, thanks for asking. I stopped posting here because it didn’t seem that there was any interest.

I removed the geo’s because they were too aggressive for my taste- awesome fish, but I wanted a more serene feel. Replaced them with angels and it is much more what I was hoping for.

Plant growth is “ok”- still harder to maintain the middle of the tank due to the big glass panel, but I love the way the plants on either side are growing out of the tank, and the caves and crannies caused by the hardscape for the fish to swim around in and through.

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geektom

Junior Poster
Dec 16, 2012
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No major updates on this tank: I continue to battle BBA in batches and feel like I am constantly thinning out plants.

I have given up on growing anything in the middle that need trimming, so I have relocated some swords there for now.

Pictures still don’t convey the depth of the tank. It is so relaxing to sit in front of it as the fish move back and forth through all the crevices and overhanging plants.

The one pair of angels tried another batch of eggs and then immediately ate them again... oh well. I am going to try and have a tank set up for next time so I can move the eggs over and try to hatch them. The tank is so busy with hungry fishies that fry will never survive.

FTS:

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Middle:

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Left hand side (“the sword farm”:

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Right hand side (“shadow valley”)
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And a couple of shots looking down the length from the short sides. Now that I cleared some plants out, you can actually see all the way down the tank!

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Stacie McMullen

New Member
Dec 8, 2019
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Menifee, CA
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your journey with this tank. It is beautiful and reading your story/ process in developing it was very encouraging to a beginner like myself. I now plan on adding some air plants to the bits of wood sticking out of my new tank. <Thank you to jbs47 for posting the name of the plant.> Do they need anything special or do they take care of themselves with the humidity from the aquarium?

Regards!
 
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geektom

Junior Poster
Dec 16, 2012
351
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Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your journey with this tank. It is beautiful and reading your story/ process in developing it was very encouraging to a beginner like myself. I now plan on adding some air plants to the bits of wood sticking out of my new tank. <Thank you to jbs47 for posting the name of the plant.> Do they need anything special or do they take care of themselves with the humidity from the aquarium?

Regards!

Thanks so much! For the most part, they seem to do fine with just the humidity. In fact, you should make sure they are not touching the water directly, or they will rot.